Can Police Wait Outside of a Bar?

By
Law Offices of Virginia L. Landry, Inc.
|April 30, 2015

Going to a local bar on a Friday or Saturday night to blow off some steam,
celebrate a big promotion, or enjoy a night on the town with friends is
everyone’s right. Of course, in order to avoid a
DUI, you’ll have to consider your options: 1) keep it to two drinks,
2) choose a designated driver, 3) call a cab or Uber, or 4) walk home.

For those contemplating driving to a bar, the presence of cops can be a
cause for concern, and understandably so. Can the police park outside
of a bar, and wait for patrons to leave so they can pull them over for
DUI? In a word…yes.

Cops often do this, however, it happens more in some jurisdictions than
others. Bars don’t like it when their businesses are targeted because
having a patrol car parked outside of their establishment is just bad
for business, but that doesn’t stop police from parking across the
street, or half a block up the road.

If you live in one of the safer cities in Orange County, a lot of the cops
are just bored. They just might camp out at a bar, club, or college dorm
in hopes of catching drunk drivers. However, in more dangerous neighborhoods
where the police have to deal with a lot of gang violence, they have better
things to do than wait in front of bars.

Big Cities Often Have Cops Hanging Out in Bar Districts

In smaller towns (which there aren’t many of in Southern California),
having police parked outside of bars is bad for business. In such cases,
patrons would much rather find a discreet bar where they won’t be
hounded by the police. However, we’re talking about Orange County
– a big place. Orange County cities tend to have police hanging
out in bar districts.

If the local police have enough to do, they aren’t usually harassing
anyone unless they are blatantly breaking the law; it all depends on the
location of the bars that you visit, and the crime in that neighborhood.

So, can the police wait outside of a bar, watch a person walk outside staggering
to their vehicle, get in their car and drive off, then pull them over
on suspicion of DUI? Yes, absolutely. However, they can’t just randomly
pull people over for suspicion of DUI.

Lawful Police Stops

In order for the police stop to be
lawful, the person who just left a bar must be exhibiting signs of intoxication
(e.g. staggering), and then get into a vehicle and drive away, or they
must commit a traffic offense after leaving (e.g. failed to use their
turn signal, failed to turn on their headlights, ran through a red light,
etc.), this way they can be legally stopped by the police.

If you don’t want to get arrested for DUI, it’s best to have
a designated driver or call a cab, otherwise, when you walk out of a bar
with your keys in hand, you could be their next target.

Arrested for DUI outside of a bar? Know your rights, contact an Orange County DUI defense attorneyfrom the Law Offices of Virginia L. Landry, Inc. for a free case evaluation!

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